Artist: John Hoffman
The aim of this workshop is to excite people into painting what we would think of as mundane. and to not get too bogged down with realism and detail.
Open to: Everyone! No experience required.
Where and when: 27th June 2026, 13:00 to 16:30 at Baptist Church, 135 Hill Road, Folkestone CT19 6LY. Free parking is available.
What to bring:
1. A set of oil paints. If you have oil paints already that is fine.
Please note the very cheap sets of oils paints you can get in The Works
or Hobbycraft are not recommended. If you are buying some for the first
time then the Daler Rowney Georgian range are about the best cheap ones
to get (set of 10 for about £24 Amazon). Cobra water soluble oil paints
are a solvent free alternative.
2. Brushes ; hog bristle or synthetic (but not watercolour brushes)
square and filbert… if buying fresh, a little set of acrylic /oil from
Hobbycraft is fine. Will need 2 inch flat and a 1-inch flat brush.
3. Surface, A4 canvas pad or canvas boards will be fine.
4. Easel; either standing or desktop. Please note some standing easels
are available to borrow on 1st come 1st serve basis.
5. Floor protector sheet
6. Mounting board and masking tape, some will be available on 1st come
1st serve basis
7. Rag and kitchen towel to clean brushes
8. Apron
9. Solvent and jars will be supplied
Artist Bio; John Hoffman
John is a successful self-taught artist. He moved down to the Marsh from the Gravesend area about 20 years ago and fell in love with the sky, so he used his skills in photography to capture it’s ever-changing colours, mood and expanse.
This inspired him into wanting to do more in trying to recreate what he had captured with the lens, so he taught himself how to paint, starting with watercolours. John then discovered the joy of pastels and oils and moved into studying still life compositions.
He has a knack of creating paintings that are beautiful painterly representations of what is in front of him. John is also very
good at teaching the skills he has learnt to those who are new to the subject, as well as those who are already familiar with oils as a medium.
John shared his love of doing portraits in charcoal and pencil with us last year but his real love and something that he is going to mainly concentrate on in 2026 is still life in oils.